Two Degrees of Separation

Chapter 12: Unravelling

Author's Note: Now for Harry's side of the story!! Enjoy :)

Chapter 12: Unravelling

Fifteen hours earlier:

Harry sat at the quietest bar they could find, enjoying the company of his best friend, but anxious to return to California. He wanted nothing more than to be with Scott again. He was trying not to come off too clingy while he was away, so he was only sporadically texting him.

Harry was definitely thankful that Louis happened to be in New York at the same time as his three days of promo. He was a welcome distraction.

"You've got it bad, eh?" Louis asked, after Harry had zoned out for the third time since they sat down.

"...What?" Harry asked after a moment, He had clearly not even heard what Louis had said.

"I said," Louis started, grabbing Harry's face so he could look into his eyes, "You got it bad."

Harry smiled, sheepishly. "Yeah, I guess so. Can't get him off my mind, Lou."

"I don't think I've ever seen you like this."

"He's incredible. He's funny, he's sweet, he's incredibly talented, and sexy..." he was zoning out again, even as he spoke.

"You don't have to talk about me like I'm not here," Louis teased. He clapped Harry on the back. "Come on, lovestruck puppy. Let's hit the club."

Harry really did not want to be at a club tonight. He knew that Louis needed a night out, so he begrudgingly followed him out of the small pub. He stumbled a bit, realizing that he had probably already had a few too many.

The club was obnoxiously crowded. Louis took him by the hand, and he was dragged through a sea of sweaty bodies. Suddenly, the crowd was gone. It took Harry a moment to register why that was. They were in a VIP area.

He felt arms wrap around him almost immediately. They weren't the arms he wanted. They were long, but they were bony. They weren't strong and muscular.

"Hey, Kendall. What are you doing here?" He asked, trying to sound as pleasant as possible. Sure, they had broken up amicably, but Harry was never able to shake the feeling that she wasn't over it.

"In town for a show. What about you, handsome?" She asked, twirling one of the curls on the top of Harry's head around her finger.

Harry couldn't deny it. She was absolutely stunning. Her eyes were soft and beautiful.

But they were brown. Harry much preferred blue.

The kind of blue that shimmers silver when they're filled with lust. The kind of blue that sparkles like a tropical ocean when filled with tears of laughter.

Harry smiled adoringly at the thought of those eyes. He suddenly realized that he hadn't yet answered her question.

"Dance with me?" She asked without waiting for an answer to her first question. Before Harry knew it, he was dragged onto a balcony overlooking the dancefloor below.

She danced like she was having sex. Harry used to find it extremely sensual. Now, as she pressed herself against him, her leg between his, rubbing up on his groin with her thigh, he found himself thinking of Scott again.

The way he wished that he could be pressed up against that body instead, with his leg between Scott's the way the Kendall's was rubbing so perfectly up against him in this moment. He would be leaning up against Scott the same way Kendall was against him, allowing his hands to roam over the taller man's muscular torso.